Lower Columbine Trail is a 2.2 mile lightly trafficked out and back trail located near Broadmoor, Colorado that features waterfalls and trails that suit all skill levels. The trail offers a stroll along a peaceful stream. It’s best used from April until September; however, I visited to find some of the less obvious structures that become more visible in winter.
The land where the video was shot was once General William Jackson Palmers. He donated the land in order to establish a local park system in 1870. This particular portion of the park is called “North Cheyenne Cañon”.
The home featured early in the video was moved brick-by-brick In the late 1990s. However, in the early 1900s, two cottages were built at the entrance of the park to house the caretaker’s residence and storage for the park’s maintenance equipment. These two buildings burned down in the 1960s. I gave it an honest effort to find the foundations of these structures, but could not. I did, however, stumble on some very interesting spillway controls.
The Cañon has many tales to tell. It has a sorted history that includes a burnt hotel and an odd little structure called “the Cub”. Author and Native American advocate; Helen Hunt Jackson had a big role in the formation of the park. Please stay tuned for the next four installments to hear it all!
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As we explored a local Canyon, an old homestead caught our eye and we decided to take a closer look. Needless to say, I was thrilled to find an expansive property, with many signs of American settlers and historic wagon trails. I was surprised at how much historical information was available about the property and how well preserved it was.
In 1894, Patrick and Margaret Lucas paid $10 for this 160-acre homestead. For nearly 50 years they lived and worked here, raising a family of eight children and building many structures that continue to give us clues and inspire stories about life on a historic western homestead.
The Lucas home is built of concrete, an unusual choice for the time when most homes were made of wood. However; it allows us to have a glimpse into the life of an 1800's homesteaders. Since Margaret left the property in 1941, the house was empty but intact. Unfortunately, a fire destroyed much of the house years ago, but what remains gives us an idea of its original size and hints about the interior and exterior. For example, the opening in the back wall gives historians insights into what the family ate, what they used to heat the house, and what types of local medicines were made.
The Apple Tree planted by Patrick and his children can still be seen on the north side of the property. They still bear fruit in autumn and have been here for over 100 years. Each spring, On the eastern side of the property, you can see Margaret's lilacs bloom. Perfuming the air around rock outcroppings that her children once played on.
The 160-acre estate fell into abandonment for more than 100 years. Eventually, the descendants of the Lucas family donated the land to an organization called "Friends of Castlewood Canyon". Later the property was sold to the state of Colorado and was added to the adjacent state park, "Castlewood Canyon State Park".
In the late 19th and early 20th century, tuberculosis hospitals became common in the United States. Over 1.3 Million hospitals were constructed during this period. In the early 1900s, Colorado’s sunny days and dry evenings attracted many people (commonly called "lungers") suffering from tuberculosis. Wealthier people chose to recuperate in exclusive tuberculosis resorts, in Colorado Springs. While others used their savings to make the journey to Arizona or New Mexico. Some formed tuberculosis camps in the desert. They were formed by pitching tents and building simple cabins. During the tuberculosis (TB) epidemic, cities in Colorado advertised the state as the premier place for treatment of TB. Many tuberculosis hospitals in the state were modeled after European away-from-city resorts of the time, boasting courtyards and individual rooms. Each tuberculosis hospitals was equipped to take care of about 120 people
The first public tuberculosis hospitals in the was in the Pacific Northwest opened; in Milwaukie Heights, Oregon in 1905. Followed soon after by the first state-owned TB hospital in Salem, Oregon, in 1910. Oregon was the first state on the West Coast to set forth legislation stating that the state was to supply suitable housing for people with TB who are not able to receive suitable care at home. The West Coast became the most popular spot for TB Hospitals
The greatest area for tuberculosis hospitals was in Colorado Springs, CO with over 13 resort-style facilities in the city. By 1920, Colorado Springs had 9,000 people who had come for treatment of tuberculosis. Too many people came to the West, in-fact not enough housing was available for them all. By 1910, more tent cities began to pop up in Arizona and New Mexico; many described as a place of squalor and shunned by most citizens. Most of the TB infected slept in the open desert with no housing. The area adjacent to what was then central Phoenix, called Sunnyslope, was home to another large tuberculosis encampment, with its residents only living in tents pitched along the hillside of the mountains north of Phoenix. Several tuberculosis hospitals opened in southern California in the early party of the 20th century due to the dry, warm climate.
The first tuberculosis hospital for blacks was ironically in the segregated South. It was called the “Piedmont Sanatorium” in Burkeville, Virginia. Although locally it was referred to it as the “pigeon sanatorium” the most famous non-segregated tuberculosis hospitals is the Waverly Hills Sanatorium, a Louisville, Kentucky, tuberculosis sanatorium, from 1911. It is a mecca for curiosity seekers who believe it is haunted. Because of its dry climate, Colorado Springs was home to the most sanatoria and tuberculosis hospitals. A. G. Holley Hospital in Lantana, Florida, was the last remaining freestanding tuberculosis sanatorium in the United States, fortunately, it closed on July 2, 2012.
The closures were and are welcomed by the American people. It closes a horrific chapter in our history. The decline of tuberculosis started in 1943, when Albert Schatz, a graduate student at Rutgers University, discovered an antibiotic and the cure for TB, tuberculosis hospitals began to close rapidly. As in the case of the Paimio Sanatorium, many were transformed into general hospitals, jails, or schools. However, over 1 million tuberculosis hospitals were simply abandoned. Half of these were demolished by 1949. By the 1950s, tuberculosis was not a large public health threat; it was controlled by medicine rather than extended rest. Most tuberculosis hospitals were demolished years before.
Some, however, have been adapted for new medical uses. The Tambaram Sanatorium in south Indiana is now a hospital for AIDS patients. The state hospital in tuberculosis hospitals, Mississippi, is now a regional center for programs for treatment and occupational therapy associated with intellectual disability. Photo's from the trip:Music from the video:
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Skizzy Mars was born as, "Myles Mills" in June of 1993. He was raised in Harlem, New York by his father, and his mother. His father was a well-to-do therapist and his Mother operated two profitable daycare centers in Manhattan. He attended an all-boys school, St. Bernard’s School through his elementary years and later he graduated from the prestigious Browning School. Skizzy attended Union College to pursue a sports journalism major, but he dropped out only ten weeks after starting. He left classes to begin his rapping career. Joining a growing number of rappers with a more diverse background. He is a true departure from the stereotypical rap persona. Bringing a fresh voice, sound, and approach to a beloved genre.
The video above was created using public domain footage from InternetArchive.org. The audio is courtesy of Skizzy Mars & No Copyright Raps". Please support the Internet Archive. Also, learn more about Skizzy Mars and listen to more of his music in the links below:
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Part 2 is Available Here: http://bit.ly/Abandoned-Mansion-Part-2
How Do Mansions & Estates Become Abandoned?
I’ve pondered about this for years because this is not a new phenomenon. Many years back my brother was working on family history and found out that once upon a time our ancestors owned a mansion in New Jersey, a house with the curious name “Heimat des Genies”. We later found out that the name is German and loosely translates to “The Home of the Genius”
Anyhow, the mansion was abandoned over a century ago. We have my grandfather’s letters describing his visits to it in the 1930s; at some point in this time, it was left to ruin (this was largely due to the great depression). My Grandfather did not and could not try to restore it. He had no use for it, it was very costly to maintain, and was already being overgrown. He decided to let the land go rather than pay the overdue taxes.
One of my brothers found just where the place was and we visited it in the 1990s. We discovered the State of New Jersey didn’t have any use for it, either. What was once a stately manner is now in a deep forest. There’s a cellar hole where the icehouse was, a half-mile from the estate. The rest of the estate is over a mile from the nearest road and the family burying ground is barely visible. One of the men buried there was a Revolutionary War soldier, so the American Legion comes through the woods once a year on Memorial Day, clears out the brush and overgrowth from the little cemetery, and puts flowers and a flag on only his grave. I guess the rest of my family isn’t worthy of their time? Since it is only five graves, we have begun slogging out; the week of memorial day, in order to pay proper respect to the entire family.
We haven’t had the heart to the tell them that according to my grandfather’s letters they have the wrong grave; they’re putting the flowers on Ichabod Sensenbaugh’s grave, but our soldier was named Ernst Sensenbaugh (and is two grave over). I suppose the 13-star flag on Ichabod’s headstone threw them off. There is one with no name on the gravestone, except “Vater”(please let me know if you have more details). None of the graves have dates. My ancestors apparently didn’t think long-term and just assumed everyone remembers who is who.
Anyhow, we do not know too much more at this time. The soil in New Jersey is sandy and not very fertile, and couldn’t compete with the rich soil of the West, so once the U.S. had expanded west of the Mississippi large parts of inland New Jersey were abandoned and left to ruin. Heimat des Genies was one such estate. There was just no economic or emotional reason to stay there. One branch of the family moved to Chicago, Illinois (where yet another Sensenbaugh later became an award-winning engineer and you can visit his house, which is now a museum) My branch of the family moved to New York, where my great-great-grandfather co-founded an engineering firm (long since bought out by other, larger firms) and a railroad (which went bankrupt in the late 1860s). And needless to say, none of us were willing to pay the taxes or maintenance costs for Heimat des Genies or any of the other estates. The sad part is only one of many mansions now stand. This is primarily how mansions become abandoned. The inability to pass wealth to the next generation makes it so they can no longer maintain the hallmarks of their family legacy. I am not bitter, just stating the facts.
At one point in time, Kmart was bigger than Walmart. Yes, that's right! For a long time, it knew exactly what middle-class consumers wanted and needed. So, why is it almost out of business today?
Similar to Sears, K-mart took its size and prominence for granted. They assumed that K-mart had solved the riddle of the middle-class culture when in reality, their tastes and expectations evolved. Kmart was not a perpetually innovative company. In fact, most of us over 30 can remember when Walmart was a crappy little store. Walmart recognized that merely selling cheap crap wasn't enough, and has continually improved its stores. It now is able to sell a handful of quality brands at average prices. Walmart recognized that middle-class consumers are aspirational and don't want to settle for only cheap goods, whereas K-mart is stuck in the past.
K-mart placed large bets on the future of “big box” stores. Both its own stores and other retailers that K-mart acquired in the early 90s. Unfortunately, this was also the time where the internet began welcoming e-commerce customers and sales. Sites like Amazon and eBay were in their infancy, but they were an early harbinger of what was to come.
K-Mart merged with Sears a few years later. This move was like two rocks holding each other tight in the hope they don't sink. Both companies wracked up large debts in the early 21st century. Which made it impossible for both companies to compete on price and bring their stores up to modern prices. Arguably the biggest contributor to the downfall of K-Mart was, Walmart. Walmart is a despicable competitor that has always had a heartless eye on closing down its competition. Even Amazon tried to expand its scope by poaching Walmart marketing talent and trying to learn how Walmart uses logistics to its advantage. If K-mart is going to compete with Walmart, they will need an A+ management team, a ton of money to burn, and they'll need to get aggressive online. Lets hope K-Mart is up for the fight... Photos from the day:Music from the video: |
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